Media isn’t an easy place to make a living these days, with even successful and established outlets closing every month. Publishers that are not only thriving, but expanding, are something we’d all love to hear more about. We were delighted when Paul Lamkin of Wareable Media Group got in touch about his third launch in five years, Get Sweat Go. We spoke to Paul about the launch of the original Wareable site back in 2014 and asked him about the changes the site has undergone as well as what the future holds.

Let’s start with what’s new – introduce us to Get Sweat Go; who’s writing it, who’s reading it, and what’s it all about? On your marks, get, sweat, go:

Get Sweat Go is our new site, dedicated to helping you sweat in new place. Places you didn’t even know existed. The way we see things, it’s boring just doing the same old thing. So Get Sweat Go is about helping you find the next fitness challenge.

That could be stepping up from road running to the trail; half marathon to a first ultra; finding new classes like Barry’s Bootcamp or CrossFit; or going off to a new yoga retreat.

We cover running, trekking, workouts and yoga right now – and our content is split between ‘Get’ – Expert reviews of gear; ‘Sweat’ – Get inspired and do what you love, better; and ‘Go’ – Travel: bucket list races, trekking holidays and far-flung yoga retreats.

Looking at your About Us page, the team obviously practices what it preaches, with the four-man core editorial team enthusing about a dozen or more sports. Do you all find wearable tech and sport are inseparable now (or do you ever just unplug everything and climb a mountain in plimsolls)?

The people we’re using to write this stuff are experts in their field – and we hope that comes across. The editor Tom Wheatley comes from a fitness background, and we have a brand new team involved.

For most of the Wareable guys if a workout isn’t tracked it never happened – that’s just us. But for a lot of people exercise is a rare chance of a screen break – so we’re all for unplugging.

How does Get Sweat Go’s coverage of fitness tech vary from Wareable? Will you cover the same product from beginner/enthusiast points of view, for example, or do you tend to find that it’s easy to decide what goes where?

With Wareable we have incredible oversight on fitness tech, which means we can afford to be a little more casual on Get Sweat Go. We can take all that testing from Wareable and distill it down for people. We don’t need to explain every option – we can make a call for people. We’ll also have more of an eye on cost – wearable enthusiasts want the best but we feel that the average athlete has an eye on price.

Stepping back a year, Wareable Media Group launched The Ambient, focusing on smart homes – how has the first year been?

The first year has been fantastic. The Ambient had a huge Christmas 2018, as smart home fever really gripped the world consumer tech market.

The Ambient actually fulfils a different need to Wareable. Confusion is a big problem in the smart home market, so The Ambient has more of an education role, as well as reviewing and recommending the best tech out there. That will always be the core of Wareable Media Group sites, and Get Sweat Go is no different.

Fitness, fashion, technology and travel are all sectors that come in for some especially hard stares at times for prioritising the shiny over the sustainable – how do you help readers of Get Sweat Go, The Ambient and Wareable address sustainability issues?

Consumer technology really is a poke in the eye for sustainability. It’s awful for the planet – but here we are. The whole industry needs to change – especially in the smart home, and make devices that are a) upgradable and b) fixable. We have championed that – but all we can do is ensure that people buy good devices that will last.

Get Sweat Go is different. Sustainability is a huge message in fitness apparel and we’re going to be beating that drum. It’s a big chance to do the right thing. We talk about it constantly. We’re going to be building this into the site over the rest of the year – clear messaging for people to make sustainable choices.

Looking back at the five years since you launched Wareable, is there any technology that didn’t reach the potential you expected, or anything that surprised you?

There’s a lot of tech that hasn’t performed, although I’m not sure its always surprising – i.e. Google Glass. The AR thing as a whole really hasn’t gotten started – it’s got a long way to go.

One thing that I think has surprised everyone is hearables. Smart earbud features really haven’t captured imaginations, which has surprised me given we’re already mad on headphones so why not include smart features?  AirPods are a good basis to build on – we wouldn’t be surprised if it rebuilds from here.

And looking forward again – what are the trends or technology you’re most looking forward to exploring on each site?

On The Ambient we’re really digging smart kitchen stuff. It’s going to be a big area – and it’s so useful. We’re rocking a smart oven and washing machine at home, and it’s been great. And as we mentioned earlier, it’s a top way to make your appliances last longer and more efficient.

At Wareable we’re prepping for the Apple Watch Series 5 – it’s always a huge driver and the way it’s pivoting as a medical device is incredibe.

I’ve always been a purveyor of the opinion that Apple just tends to absolutely nail ideas companies have already tried. But with the Apple Watch it’s so far out in front, charting its own path, it’s unreal – but things like proper FDA certifications have to come next.

Get Sweat Go – it’s all about that wellness tourism trend. Fitness, wellness and mindfulness is becoming such a huge part of our lives now – but why just fit it around work, family and all the rest? We’re going to be championing incorporating fitness and wellness into your travel as well. It’s the biggest growth area in the travel industry.

With The Ambient and Get Sweat Go you’ve diversified beyond technology and taken on a number of specialist contributors – are there still opportunities for freelance journalists to work for you?

What we do is all about expertise now. If you’re an expert in one of our areas then we have work for you.

ResponseSource is all about connecting journalists with PR professionals and other sources – – do you have any advice if I wanted to pitch you a product, expert or experience for Get Sweat Go, or invite you or your writers to an event? Is there anything you don’t want to hear about?

We’re starting out in a busy industry, so we just want to hear about everything. Invite us along to stuff, pop in for coffee. We’re trying to build something really different, so we will have tonnes of ways to cover your products that other brands just aren’t thinking of. But we like nice pictures, so make sure those are always readily available.

Just before we go, let’s tie up some loose ends: did you ever make it to Legoland, and have you seen Star Trek yet?

I have two small kids now and so the Legoland dream is a bit more real now – although it would be pretty weird to take Sean Connery on a family outing. And no, I’ve never seen an episode of Star Trek. Nor a Bond film. And I don’t like Star Wars.

And finally, can you point us to a couple of your current favourite features on Get Sweat Go that might get the more, erm, sedate among us excited about “expanding our fitness horizons”?

You don’t need to be seriously into sport to get inspired over on GSG. For example, this story tells you how to plan your trip to any one of, or indeed all, of the 61 National Parks in the US; and this one helps you destress and be more mindful just by using your phone.

If you did want some serious challenge inspiration though, we’ve got a great guide on the world’s best marathons and, of course, the best running shoes to buy in order to get those races done.

Find out more about Wareable Media Group and its websites including Get Sweat Go on the Media Bulletin, the Media Contacts Database or at www.wareable.com/about

If you’d like to tell the ResponseSource journalist and PR community about your media outlet launch or relaunch, get in touch on news@responsesource.com